Pro-abortion ER doctor describes dangerously negligent ectopic pregnancy care

A pro-abortion emergency room physician recently wrote an op-ed claiming laws protecting preborn children from abortion are putting women’s lives at risk and compromising their ability to do their jobs. Conversely, she claimed that committing abortions has saved women’s lives. Yet what she described about treating ectopic pregnancies reveals dangerously negligent practices.

Writing for the Ohio Capital Journal, Polly Wiltz said she is an emergency care medical resident working at a busy one-level urban trauma center in Ohio. She claimed that, within the space of one shift, she saw two women who both had suffered ectopic pregnancies — and she appears to be claiming that the treatment she provided for both were ‘life-saving treatment like an abortion’.

FACT: Treating ectopic pregnancy isn’t an abortion and is legal in every state

She wrote:

Before I opened the door, I could already tell the patient in room 11 was in excruciating pain. I find her in tears, doubled over in a fetal position. Her triage notes tell me she’s here for abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding. The notes also indicate a positive pregnancy test. I can see the fear in her face as I explain that we need to perform an ultrasound in order to rule out an ectopic pregnancy. An hour later, ultrasound results confirm my suspicions — but the pregnancy has begun to rupture before I can deliver the news.

I rush back in to find the patient keeling off her chair, pale and hypotensive. Other nurses rush to my aid as we try to stabilize her. She will need an immediate laparoscopic surgery to survive.

Since the fall of Roe v. Wade, abortion activists have increasingly conflated legitimate medical care for miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy with induced abortions — the direct and intentional killing of preborn children. The problem is that treatments for miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy treatments are not abortions under the legal definition of the word. Though miscarriages can sometimes be termed “spontaneous abortions,” laws protecting preborn children from abortion refer to surgical procedures or drugs used to intentionally cause the death of a preborn child. This is often referred to, both legally and medically, as an induced abortion.

Treatment for ectopic pregnancy has never been considered abortion; even Planned Parenthood previously acknowledged this fact before erasing the inconvenient information from its website. By perpetuating the misconception that surgery for an ectopic pregnancy is an “abortion,” Planned Parenthood can gain support for actual intentional killing of preborn children from unsuspecting, compassionate Americans who believe the lie that abortion is a valid medical treatment for such cases.

FACT: The abortion pill is contraindicated for anyone suffering an ectopic pregnancy

Though this misinformation from Wiltz is troubling — the context of her argument insinuates that this patient underwent an abortion when she didn’t — her next story was deeply disturbing.

“Next door, the patient in room 10 also requires an ultrasound,” she wrote. “And it must be a full moon because her results also indicate an ectopic pregnancy. Our OB/GYN recommends giving her an abortion pill here in the emergency department and then discharging her home with close follow-up.” (emphasis added)

To be fair, it appears Wiltz herself did not prescribe the abortion pill; allegedly, an OB/GYN did. However, this is not the standard of care for an ectopic pregnancy. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) specifically lists ectopic pregnancy as a contraindication for the abortion pill regimen, which consists of mifepristone and misoprostol.

Additionally, the recommended treatment for ectopic pregnancies (according to medical organizations like Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic) is not an abortion but consists of either surgery or a drug administered via injection (not the abortion pill mifepristone). A woman who takes the abortion pill regimen while experiencing an ectopic pregnancy is at an increased risk of complications. Those potential complications include hemorrhaging, infection, and death.

FACT: Women’s safety is important, and they deserve the truth

Was Wiltz being intentionally vague and misleading when using the term “abortion pill”? It’s possible; there is a drug that can be given to women as treatment for ectopic pregnancies, but it isn’t the abortion pill. The drug sometimes administered for an ectopic pregnancy is methotrexate, which prevents the cells from growing, and the woman’s body will eventually reabsorb the baby’s body. Methotrexate, however, is not part of the abortion pill regimen. Methotrexate has a number of uses and is not typically prescribed for abortion, but doctors may prescribe it off-label for that purpose. The drug is contraindicated for use during pregnancy.

So was Wiltz intentionally referring to it as an “abortion pill” to convince readers that abortion is necessary for women experiencing an ectopic pregnancy? Or did her OB/GYN actually recommend that a woman be given mifepristone for an ectopic pregnancy, putting the patient’s life at risk? Considering the preferred standard of treatment for ectopic pregnancy is a methotrexate injection, according to ACOG, Drugs.com, and the UK’s NHS (pill form is prescribed for other indications), if Wiltz’s story is true, it’s incredibly concerning.

What makes Wiltz’s op-ed even worse is that, regardless of what she may claim, treatments for miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy are legal in every single state, even those with laws protecting preborn children.

“[I]t’s more important than ever for Ohio voters to show up and cast informed ballots — our safety depends on it,” she wrote.

Yet considering her own dangerously misleading article, she’s not educating anyone — she’s deceiving them. Wiltz does not seem interested in presenting factual information for voters to read and then make decisions based upon. Instead, she seems intent on misrepresenting emergency situations in an effort to promote a pro-abortion agenda… and that doesn’t lead to anyone making an “informed” choice.

Editor’s Note, 4/23/24: This article has been clarified regarding the uses of methotrexate.

The DOJ put a pro-life grandmother in jail for protesting the killing of preborn children. Please take 30-seconds to TELL CONGRESS: STOP THE DOJ FROM TARGETING PRO-LIFE AMERICANS.